Dominant display as Caithness United U16s hit 11 against Inverness Athletic
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Caithness United under-16s produced a dominant performance as they thumped their Inverness Athletic counterparts 11-0 in horrible conditions at Naver on Sunday.
The SHFL Under-16 Highland fixture had to be stopped for a brief spell to allow players and spectators to take shelter from a hailstorm.
John Hooker scored four and there was a hat-trick for Jayden Bremner, with the other goals coming from Cory Miller, Tyler Gordon, Shay Coghill and Steven Esson.
Caithness coach Kevin Miller said: “We asked for a bit more from the squad, with regard to physicality, tempo and being more clinical in front of goal. We had the perfect start when we scored a couple of early goals, which obviously allowed them to gain confidence from that point on.
"I thought the boys played some lovely stuff in spells, knocking the ball about, keeping possession, looking to be positive and creating lots of chances. Some of the goals we scored were very good and we managed to keep a clean sheet too, so not much to grumble about.
"The weather again didn’t help matters, but the lads stuck to the task well and looked a proper football team at times."
Miller added: “We have a couple of tough away games coming up next, so hopefully the weather improves and we can regroup at training this week before heading off to Dingwall on Sunday for another league game.”
The previous weekend, Caithness United U16s had played their first match since November – away to league leaders Balloan City at a very windy Inverness Royal Academy.
The Caithness lads were forced to play into the gale for the first half, and going in at half-time with the score still at 0-0 was something of a moral victory. However, the energy-sapping first period took its toll as United succumbed to a 3-0 defeat.
Coach Steve Bain said: “We knew it was going to be tough, as Balloan are a strong outfit and have been scoring goals for fun this season. Our lads had a 100 per cent record going into this match, but after a long spell without a game it was always going to be a big ask for them to be 'on song', especially when we were up against Balloan.
"To be honest, we were just glad to be back playing, and credit to our boys – they put in a tremendous shift, particularly in the first half. The wind was a massive factor and I was glad to see that both teams still tried their best to play football throughout.
"Balloan were deserved winners on the day, so credit to them.”
Bain added: “Really competitive games like these are so good from a coaching perspective, as you tend to learn a lot more about your players and team. After a chat with the other two coaches, we have identified a few things that need working on and improving."
